By Tichaona Katsvamutima
Eswatini businessman Nathan Kirsh (pictured) has become the third African billionaire to cross the US$20 billion net-worth threshold, marking a dramatic rise in his fortune following the proposed sale of his US food-service business to Sysco Corporation.
Kirsh, Eswatini’s only billionaire, was valued at about $20 billion by Forbes’ real-time billionaire index in August 2026, according to Business Insider Africa. He began the year with an estimated fortune of approximately $9.1 billion, meaning his wealth has more than doubled in less than eight months.
The 94-year-old businessman joins Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote and South African luxury-goods magnate Johann Rupert in the exclusive group of African billionaires whose fortunes have reached the $20 billion level.
Kirsh’s extraordinary increase in wealth is largely linked to the $29.1 billion acquisition of Jetro Restaurant Depot by Sysco, one of the largest transactions in the US food-distribution industry.
The deal, announced in March, is expected to provide Kirsh with a combination of cash and Sysco shares. According to Billionaires. Africa, the transaction would give Kirsh’s side approximately $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco shares, equivalent to about a 16% stake in the enlarged company. The transaction is expected to close after regulatory approvals.
From a small grocery business to a global food empire
Kirsh built his fortune over several decades through the food-distribution industry.
He founded Jetro Cash & Carry in 1976 and later acquired Restaurant Depot in 1994. The business developed a cash-and-carry model that allowed restaurants, caterers and other small businesses to purchase food and supplies directly from large warehouse outlets.
Restaurant Depot subsequently grew into one of the largest food-service suppliers in the United States.
The company has about 166 locations across 35 states and generates roughly $16 billion in annual revenue, according to reports cited by Business Insider Africa.
The proposed Sysco transaction has therefore transformed what was previously a largely private fortune into one increasingly backed by cash and publicly traded assets.
A dramatic rise in African billionaire wealth
Kirsh’s rise comes amid significant movements in the fortunes of Africa’s wealthiest businesspeople.
Johann Rupert, whose wealth is tied largely to luxury-goods giant Richemont, crossed the $20 billion mark earlier this year, while Dangote has remained Africa’s wealthiest person as his industrial empire and the Dangote Refinery continue to underpin his fortune.
Nigerian businessman Abdulsamad Rabiu also came close to the $20 billion threshold earlier in the year, although his fortune subsequently fell below that level as BUA Cement shares lost some of their gains.
Kirsh’s case is particularly notable because much of the wealth creation has occurred through a business based outside Africa. Nevertheless, his long-standing links to Eswatini have placed him among the continent’s most prominent billionaire fortunes.
The milestone also highlights the growing influence of major corporate transactions on billionaire rankings, where a single acquisition can substantially alter the value of privately held businesses and their owners’ fortunes.
For Kirsh, the Restaurant Depot sale represents the culmination of nearly five decades of building a global food-distribution business—and has propelled a previously low-profile African billionaire into the continent’s $20 billion club.
